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December 12, 2025BUILDING PERMITS, OCTOBER 2025 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, October 2025 vs September 2025)
Changes in monthly building permit values are typically very volatile, with large swings from one month to the next.
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) fell 8.3% to $266.3 million. Halifax permits rose 2.5% to $142.3 million while permits outside the city dropped 18.2% to $124.0 million. National permits rose 14.9% to $13.8 billion. Total building permit values were up in eight provinces, led by Ontario. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits dropped 5.7% to $182.5 million. Halifax residential permits declined 1.7% to $109.1 million. Outside the city, residential permit values fell 11.1% to $73.5 million. National residential building permit values increased 14.6% to $8.6 billion with gains in eight provinces. Residential permit values were up most in Ontario while Manitoba reported the fastest percentage decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits declined 13.5% to $83.7 million. Halifax non-residential permits rose 19.2% to $33.2 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values fell 26.7% to $50.5 million. National non-residential building permit values grew 15.4% to $5.3 billion with gains in seven provinces. New Brunswick and Ontario led all provinces in non-residential building permit growth. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Year-to-date (January-October 2025 vs January-October 2024)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were up 7.6% in the first ten months of the year comparing with the same period in 2024. Halifax permits declined 5.4% and outside the city permit values increased 28.2%. National permits were up 2.6%. Building permit values were up in seven provinces, with New Brunswick, Alberta, and Saskatchewan reporting the fastest increases. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest decline.
In the first ten months of 2025, Nova Scotia's residential building permits rose 0.5% compared to the same period in 2024. Halifax residential permits declined 1.0% and outside the city residential permit values increased 2.8%. National residential building permit values increased 4.4%. Residential permit values were up in all provinces except Ontario and Prince Edward Island, with the fastest increases in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits rose 25.1% in the first ten months of 2025 (compared with the same period in 2024), the second fastest rise in non-residential permit values among provinces after Alberta. Halifax permits declined 16.4% while non-residential permits outside the city rose 88.5%. National non-residential building permit values fell 0.2% on declines in six provinces. Manitoba reported the steepest decline in year-to-date non-residential permit values.
Growth in total permits in the first ten months of the year was concentrated outside of Halifax. Higher residential and non-residential permits outside of Halifax were partially offset by lower residential and non-residential permits in Halifax.
Permit values for single dwelling units were up across the province. Halifax multiple unit permit values decline offset the slight rise in the rest of the province.
Non-residential permit values were up due to notable growth in institutional/government as well as commercial permits outside of Halifax. Industrial permit values were down across the province.
Year-to-date growth in building permit values was notably stronger for areas outside Halifax. Outside the city, there was very strong growth in institutional/government and commercial building permits as well as increases in residential units. In Halifax, non-residential permits were down across all categories. Halifax multiple unit permit values decline offset the rise in single unit dwelling projects.
Trends
Overall building permit values have generally been on a rising trend for several years, though there have been periods of declining values over this period. Rising permit values are mostly driven by higher residential permits within Halifax, as well as outside the city, to a smaller degree.
Residential permits followed a stable trend in late 2023 and early 2024,and has trended upward through most of 2025.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permit values also reached a plateau from late 2023 through 2024. Non-residential permits have trended up through the first half of 2025 due to notable growth outside the city.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. In Halifax, growth in permit values for multi-unit dwellings has outpaced growth in single-dwelling unit permits. Outside the city, single dwelling unit permits are more common than permits for multi-unit structures. However, in recent months, there has been a surge in multi-unit building permits outside Halifax.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. In Halifax, non-residential permits have started to decline on lower commercial, industrial, and institutional/government projects. Outside the city, permits have exhibited a rise in recent months due to sharp growth in institutional/government permits.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0292-01 Building permits, by type of structure and type of work (x 1,000)